Paw Prints: The Canine Heroes of 9/11

There have been many contributions by canines throughout the history of the world, but none greater than the 400 canine heroes associated with September 11th.

This constituted the largest deployment of canines or SAR’s (Search and Rescue Dogs) in American history. The breeds that participated in 911 included the following…Golden Retrievers; German Shepherds; Keeshounds; Portuguese Waterdogs; Labs; Rat Terriers; Australian Shepherds; Belgian Shepherds; Border Collies; Rotties; Spaniels; Dobermans; Dachshunds; and a variety of mixed breeds.

These pooches in many cases worked 12-16 hour days until they suffered from complete exhaustion. Many of the dogs suffered from scorched paws; smoke inhalation and chemical exposure. The SAR dogs learn specialized disaster response skills and are trained to assist in numerous ways during extreme conditions. Among the many great stories of canine heroism that evolved out of 9/11, one searcher found two bodies of missing firefighters while another canine rescuer lost 12 pounds in 11 days.

One of the more famous canines whose reputation was greatly enhanced from the tragedy was a German Shepherd from Nova Scotia, Canada, named “Trakr.” Trakr found the last of the 20 survivors, a lady trapped on the 13th floor who had been missing for 26 hours. Trakr’s handler, James Symington, drove 15 hours to arrive at the World Trade Towers. Trakr was born and trained in the Czech Republic prior to joining the Halifax Regional Police Dept. in Nova Scotia. The canine was prematurely retired from the force in May, 2001.

On September 14, 2001, Trakr suffered from smoke and chemical inhalation and collapsed. Trakr survived the rescue effort and lived to reach the golden age of 16. Trakr’s DNA was utilized to clone five pups successfully….Trustt; Solace; Valor; Prodigy; and Deja Vu. Trakr’s handler contributed the following statement in honor of his canine companion: “Once in a lifetime, a dog comes along that not only captures the hearts of all he touches, but also plays a private role in history.”

(Special recognition to Healthypets.mercola.com and TopTenz.net-Top-10-rescue-dogs from- 911 posted by Bryan Johnson on 9/11/2012 for the information utilized in this post.)

Should you know of a story of a canine hero, share it with us by emailing hottytoddynews@gmail.com.

Steve Vassallo is a HottyToddy.com contributor. Steve writes on Ole Miss athletics, Oxford business, politics and other subjects. He is an Ole Miss grad and former radio announcer for the basketball team. Currently, Steve is a highly successful leader in the real estate business who lives in Oxford with his wife Rosie. You can contact Steve at sovassallo@gmail.com or call him at 985-852-7745.

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